Choosing Sides
by angel-death-dealer
Summary: Set during f4...Sue's determination is rumbled after a meal with Victor, and Reed's there to pick up the pieces


**This is, as some people will know, following a scene in the movie where Sue and Victor met up for dinner to discuss how things were developing in the Baxter Building. It's in the Extended Edition, which I brought for my best mate for Christmas, which is how I saw it, but any script you read of the first film it's included in. Very good scene. I think they should have shown it because it does show the shift and change in Sue's loyalty when it comes to sides, and I suppose it plays on the competition between Victor and Reed as well. Anyway, this is how I imagine things would have played out afterwards.**

**Choosing Sides**

It wasn't that late when Sue arrived back at the Baxter Building, but she hadn't been out for long in the first place. She glanced at her watch on the way up to Reed's floor, and saw that it was only ten minutes past nine-o'clock, but she still felt exhausted. Her dinner with Victor hadn't exactly gone as planned. She'd been worried that he would try to reattempt his proposal that he had first made on the space station, and when she'd calmly, albeit awkwardly, explained that she didn't think they should get involved with one another, he had made her look like the fool. She wasn't sure why he had rattled her so much, but there was something about their conversation that had left her insides churning and her guard tightly wrapped around her. Was it because he had insinuated that her and Reed were a couple? She wasn't sure. She hadn't even thought about how she had instinctively said 'we', but surely it was just because they'd been working together?

When the elevator doors opened and she found herself looking into the hall of Reed's spacious, multi-floor apartment, tears welled up in her eyes. An hour ago, she had been dining in one of Manhattan's finest restaurants, with a man who could easily afford to give her the whole world. As he had said on the space station; it wasn't just a metaphor in his case. She'd spent at least two hours getting ready for the dinner; choosing her outfit, doing her hair and make up, then forcing herself to leave the apartment rather than stay in with the others. Within ten minutes it was all over.

_Do your job. _Victor's words echoed in her head as she looked straight ahead, finding her eyes pinpointed on the latest machine that had been constructed in Reed's laboratory. He was right. She wasn't there for leisure. She was there to do her job: to find out what was happening to them, and reverse it. Then, she'd no doubt be expected to go back to Victor and help him rebuild the shattered remains of his company before the damage to his reputation was irreversible.

If that was the case, why did simply stepping onto the threshold make her whole night seem so far away?

She heard footsteps, and so she went to the end of the hall, where her guest room was. Johnny was in the next room, beside hers, and she knew that Reed's bedroom was still opposite the room she was in. She ducked into her room, hearing Ben calling her name in his gruff voice, but she ignored it, closing the door behind her. When the door was safely closed, she took off her jacket, throwing it across the room so that it landed on the dresser and knocked off the book that was placed on top of it. The stress of the evening finally built up to breaking point, and a lump began burning in her throat as tears leaked from her eyes, ruining her perfect make-up that she'd spent hours on. Of course, the majority of it was waterproof, but tears were always a surefire way of ruining one's appearance.

She reached up to her blonde hair, taking out the clips that held her hair firmly in place. It was strange how she had spent so long making sure it would hold, and now she couldn't get it hanging around her shoulders fast enough. Then the clothes had to go. The black dress felt like it was eating at her skin, surrounding her like his words had done, and she couldn't wait to get it off. She stood there for a moment, finally feeling like she was free of the ten minute 'date', but his echoing voice remained in the back of her head. She changed into a pair of sweat pants and a simple black t-shirt, ready for the sleep that she probably wouldn't get that night, and threw herself down onto the end of the bed, sitting with her head in her hands and letting out her tears while her newly-discovered invisibility shimmered over her body.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed before she stopped crying, but eventually her full cries calmed into weak whimpers with the occasional sob and her body came back into focus. It was then that she heard a soft knocking on her door. She didn't answer to the knock, and was too exhausted to her caller to leave her alone, but she still heard the door creaking open slowly. She looked up, her tear-stained cheeks obvious to the man standing in her doorway, but she didn't move to wipe them dry. Part of her wasn't surprised that it was Reed who stood there, but she was rather surprised that he had taken time away from his work to even notice that she was back in the building.

He was silent, stepping into her bedroom and pushing the door closed behind him. It didn't shut fully, and a soft ray of light from the hall outside bathed the room in a gentle glow. He sat down beside her on the mattress, still with a small gap between them. "You're back early," he observed, his voice so quiet that it was almost a whisper.

"Yeah, it didn't go so well," she said simply, trying to sound nonchalant about it, but failing miserably because of her tears. "I thought about staying and getting drunk but you can't really do that when everyone knows who you are."

"How are you holding up?" he asked her, his voice not changing.

"Good," she answered with a firm nod. He knew straight away from her tears, however, that she wasn't good. "Considering...considering I really don't know what's happening to me, and Victor's making it seem like it's all our faults."

There was a momentary silence where Reed wasn't exactly sure what he should say to her. "He's just trying to get to you, Sue," he told her. "I'm sure he doesn't mean it."

"That would be nice if it were true," she shook her head, wondering if this was just something he was saying to try and make her feel better.

"It is true," he assured her. "None of this was our faults..." he trailed off, looking down at the carpet for a moment before raising his eyes to hers again. "...not _yours_, anyway." Sue looked back at him, this time holding his gaze for a long time. "It was a freak of nature, Sue."

She took a moment to try and compose herself, but failed. She knew that if they got into a conversation about Victor she'd start crying again, and she didn't want to do that. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that a part of Reed's hand was black, almost charred. She frowned, taking it in her own and inspecting it. "What did you do to your hand?" she asked him, her fingers dusting his skin gracefully.

"I got a little too close to some broken wires and, uh..._melted_ a bit," he explained, almost like a young boy who was proud of what he had done, but was too ashamed to face his parents with it.

It made her smile to hear that tone in his voice, and she couldn't hold it back even though the tears still sat on her cheeks. As the corners of her lips raised just ever so slightly, Reed his put his arm around her. For a moment her head fell onto his shoulder, an instinctive move from their relationship two years ago, and he placed a chaste kiss on her temple. However, she sat up almost immediately after his lips left her skin, surprised to find that his hand remained on her back comfortingly, and she started to wipe underneath her eyes, suddenly ashamed of crying in front of him.

"Look at me," she gestured hypothetically, dropping her hands in surrender where she was too exhausted, both physically and mentally, to try anymore. "I'm a mess."

"I'm looking at you," Reed told her, "and you're beautiful."

He suddenly realized that the words he'd spoken in his head had been spoken aloud as well, and his breath hitched in his throat. Sure, he had been thinking it, but he didn't think he had it in him to tell her. She was beautiful, even though she had tears on her cheeks and her eyes were red and puffy from crying. She was beautiful, even though her eyes had lost their playful glitter which flared whenever she was in her element. She was beautiful even though she'd had her spirit broken. Sue shook her head, as if unable to believe his words, but she was replaying them over and over in her head. _You're beautiful. _It was like a song on repeat in her mind. As she processed this thought, Reed's hand remained on her back, rubbing her skin soothingly through her t-shirt, and eventually fresh tears threatened to spill over from the intensity of his words.

"It's been a long time since anyone's said that to me," she admitted.

"Well, if you want me to, I'll say it again," he told her with a soft smile. "You are beautiful, Sue. Don't let anything about this whole situation make you believe otherwise."

At this, she began to cry again, unable to hold in the sobs that racked her body. Reed, who had seen girls cry a hundred times in his life thanks to two emotional sisters he'd had while he was growing up, pulled her closer to him and held her reassuringly. This time, she didn't pull away from him and was glad that he, of all people, was there to comfort her. Since they'd received these abilities she hadn't had anyone to talk to, not properly anyway, and now that she did have someone she was both surprised and pleased that it was Reed. Thankfully, after a few minutes, she cried herself hoarse, and all that was left was a few hiccups and the salty residue of her tears. She didn't pull back from him, even when she was finished with her outburst. Instead, she just kept her head rested on his shoulder. With all the emotion she'd held back and released that night she was exhausted.

Reed also stayed where he was, realizing that he hadn't been this close to Sue for a long time. He hadn't realized, until he had walked into the guest room and seen her with her tears, how much he had missed holding her like this. He missed being able to help her, and being able to make things better for her. At the same time, Sue was remembering how much she felt at home in his arms. Since their abilities had changed them, she found that her head nestled into his skin slightly, not drastically, but enough to make her feel as if she fit perfectly against him. If they had each known what the other was thinking, and how similar their thoughts were, they would have been shocked, but not entirely surprised.

"Where are the others?" she asked, trying to break the silence that was slowly becoming awkward.

"Johnny went out just after you and Ben's watching television," he told her, but she could hear the distraction in his voice.

"You should go back out there," she suggested, even though her mind was telling her that she didn't want him to leave her. "He'll wonder what's keeping you."

"I'm not going anywhere until I know you're all right," he said, firmly but softly.

Sue didn't know what to say to that. She wasn't all right and she wanted him to stay, but she just couldn't get the words out to say it without sounding desperate. Even though she said nothing, he didn't leave. He stayed exactly where he was and continued to hold her just as tightly. She sighed. "Thank you," she finally managed to say. "Thank you, Reed."

"I don't know what you're thanking me for," he half-grumbled. "It's my fault that you have to be going through all of this." For a moment, he pulled her to him a little more. "I'm _so_ sorry that you got caught up in this chaos."

"I didn't think for a second that things might end up like this," she admitted, "but I'm glad I went into space. It was my dream as well as yours."

"That's the only reason I let you go," Reed admitted, suddenly spilling out all the things that he had wanted to tell her before that moment. "I couldn't shake the feeling that something would go wrong and that something bad would happen, and I didn't want anything to happen to you. But seeing you look up at the shuttle, knowing that you were going to see the stars...I couldn't have stopped you." He sighed, as she had done moments before. "I should have stopped you tonight, though."

"Why?" she asked him, secretly wishing that he had stopped her going to meet Victor, as suspicious as it may have seemed hours ago.

"Because the last thing I wanted to do was hand you over to him and let him get to you like this." After he spoke, he was let wondering why it was causing him so much discomfort to see Sue like this. Was it because he was jealous and he wanted to be with her, or because Victor was a threat to her and he needed to protect her? _Don't lie to yourself, Reed. You care about her._

"Why?" she asked again, a question that he didn't really want to answer, but he knew that he had to. This conversation had gone too far for them to take a step back now.

"Because I care about you, Sue," he whispered. His voice was quiet, but so was the room and his words reached her with ease, even though she was so sure that she had misheard them at first. "I just don't want to see you get hurt through all of this," he explained further. _Do you not want her hurt because it would weigh down your conscience, or because it would weigh down your heart? _Sue stayed silent for a moment, and he panicked that he had been too forward with what he had said, but he heard her yawn a moment later. "You're tired," he commented simply.

"It's been a long day," she nodded. Her mind was drained as well as her body, and she was beginning to feel drawn to sleep.

He nodded his head back to the bed, and she followed his gaze. "Here, lay down." She crawled to the top end of the bed, settling onto the mattress. Reed followed her around the side, and when she lay comfortably he pulled the blankets over her. He stayed on top of the blankets, half-sitting and half-laying beside her. "Is that better?" he asked her.

She closed her eyes as she nodded, realizing that she was resting her head in the gap between his neck and shoulder, and that the arm of his she was lying on was wrapped around her, resting precariously on her hip beneath the blankets. Not daring himself to do anything else he lay still with her, but was casually surprised when her hand appeared above the blankets and took hold of his. "Reed?"

"Yes?" he replied, trying to hide his surprise, and yet also not believing his luck.

"I care about you, too," she told him, her eyes still closed and her body barely laying an inch from his.

He felt his heart racing with excitement when she told him, and, had they been closer, he probably would have felt her own heartbeat hammering against his chest. Clutching her hand, he gave it a reassuring squeeze, along with another gentle kiss to her temple. This time, he lingered for a few moments afterwards, and she could feel his warm breath on her skin. Knowing that she was so exhausted and vulnerable, he refused to take advantage of her in the way that most men would have at this moment. Here she was, lying in his arms once again, welcoming his touch, his kisses, and he knew that it was mainly for comfort reasons, so he couldn't bring himself to exploit her and take advantage of her like that.

She kept her eyes closed, and after a few moments she was sure that she had convinced him she was asleep. She had been expecting him to leave once he thought she was asleep, but roughly half an hour passed and he stayed exactly where he was, not even moving his hands. After this, she realized that he was obviously not planning to leave her that night, and she was glad for it. She felt the arm that was above the blankets and holding onto Reed being lifted, and she then felt him press his lips to her knuckles softly. Unable to hold in her smile, she turned her head a little and tried to hide it in the pillow that was Reed's shoulder, but he had seen it, meaning that he, too, couldn't contain his smile. After a few more moments, knowing that she was comfortable and safe in his arms, she fell into a deep sleep.

An hour after Sue had fallen asleep, at almost midnight, Reed heard the bedroom door, which was slightly ajar still being pushed open. He lifted his head from the pillow, keeping his body still as Sue was still resting against him, and he saw two faces, one rocky, one drunken, peeking around the door. He hadn't been aware that Johnny had come home, but from the glint in his eye he had drunk a lot that night.

"Look!" Johnny said in a loud whisper. "Reed's in my sister's bed!"

"Get out of here!" Reed whispered back.

"At least one of us got lucky tonight," the youngster continued resentfully. He still wasn't pleased with Reed's rule about bringing girls into the Baxter Building.

"He's not _that_ lucky," Ben pointed out. "They're both wearing clothes."

"If you wake her up I'm going to kill you," Reed threatened them lightly, and even though Johnny was drunk he knew that it held no truth in it. "Now, get out of here," he repeated, pointing into the hall behind them.

Giggling drunkenly, Johnny allowed Ben to pull him from the doorway, closing the bedroom door fully behind them. Reed sighed, looking down at Sue to make sure that they hadn't woken her up. Thankfully, she was still sleeping soundly, which was a miracle considering the noise that the other two had made on their way back to their rooms, arguing again as they had been all week. Settling his head back on the pillow, he drifted off into sleep as well. Sleep came easily to him, especially seeing as he hadn't slept anywhere other than his desk for the past week unless Sue was there to march him into his bedroom and all but lock the door behind him. As his eyes closed, he couldn't help but be happy that his was back on Sue's good side. It was obvious to everyone else, however, that he was on more than her good side now.

The following morning, Reed awoke feeling groggy. He hadn't fallen asleep until midnight, and it was only when he felt movement beside him that he remembered why. Looking down beside him, he found himself holding Sue as one would hold their wife. Her head was rested on his chest, and above the blankets their hands were entwined. He vaguely remembered getting under the covers himself when she had complained, half-asleep, that she was cold, and that had taken away the barrier of blankets from between them. His hand, which had before been resting on her hip, had fallen down and was lying on her stomach, and as he moved a little in her sleep her bare skin was revealed from beneath her t-shirt, and rubbed against the palm of his hand.

He sighed. He never imagined he would be this close to her again. They had been in a relationship together two years ago, but after a four-year relationship, Sue didn't like that she never saw him because he was always in the lab, as well as the fact that he was hesitant for them to move in together, so they had parted ways. Now, though, he was holding her in his arms as if nothing had really changed between them. He smiled at the thought, noticing how her blonde hair was barely ruffled from the nights sleep and it was spread out behind her over the top of his arm. He definitely hadn't been lying to her last night: she was truly beautiful.

But then a thought struck him. Last night she had been upset about a confrontation with Victor, and that is why he had stayed with her, but what would her reaction be when she woke up and found herself this close to him? He knew it would be awkward to stay and face the possibilities, but he didn't dare see what would happen if he slipped out of the room now. If he went, he'd only end up worrying again and she'd more than likely be angry with him for leaving, but if he stayed, there was the advantage of getting to lay like this a little longer. It was this thought that won him over, and he bravely decided to face however she decided to react when she eventually woke up. Wondering what time it was, he leaned his head forward a little so that he could see his watch on the hand that Sue was still holding tightly. 8.49am. He raised his eyebrows, suddenly regretting the fact that he was meant to be meeting Johnny in the lab at nine o'clock to continue the experiments and see what he was capable of. _I can't move until Sue wakes up, _Reed realized, _but if neither Sue nor I are there then he and Ben are going to have a field day. _It didn't take a genius to know what would be going through their heads, especially as Sue and Reed hadn't been seen that morning. They'd also been seen holding each other the previous night, if Johnny could remember that through his hangover. He held back a groan, hating to contemplate what they could suspect.

It was only a few minutes later that she woke up, though. He felt her stirring in his arms, trying to curl tighter into a ball or tighter to him; he couldn't figure out which, although he expected it was the first option. He watched fondly as her eyelids fluttered open, revealing the tired blue eyes that had been hidden from beneath them. She didn't raise her eyes, and Reed took a second to follow her eye-line and see that she was gazing directly at their clasped hands. He froze, wondering what was going through her mind. After a moment, she lifted her head from his chest, bringing up her freehand to wipe the sleep from her eyes and finger comb her hair, before letting out a yawn, still half-asleep, and resting her head back on Reed again, this time settling on his shoulder. She looked up into his brown eyes, which had followed her every movement from the second she awoke.

"Hey," he said in a whisper, not needing to raise his voice to any more than that.

"Hey," she replied, her voice thick with sleep but still just as quiet as his.

For a moment, they just stared at each other, and then she registered his hand on her stomach. She felt a strange sensation brewing beneath where his hand was laying, and recognized it instantly as butterflies.

"How are you?" he asked her, unsure of what else to say. He hoped that his being with her had helped, even if it was just a small amount.

How was she? For the first time since he had showed up in Victor's office, she had been able to sleep properly, and she knew that it was because she wasn't sleeping alone. "Better," she said, with a gentle smile. "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it," he assured her.

"No, really, Reed. Thank you," she protested.

"Just helping out a friend," he brushed off, and even though she kept her composure he could have sworn he saw a disappointment in her eyes. Changing the subject quickly, he let out a little laugh. "I'll warn you, though, we're about to be the subject of many jokes and rumors," he said, preparing her for the undoubted barrage of comments they'd receive.

"Why?" she asked, half-spaced out as she tried to wake up properly.

"Because Johnny and Ben came in here about an hour after you fell asleep and saw us like this," he explained. "Well, that, and we were meant to meet Johnny in the lab for his tests five minutes ago."

"Five minutes ago?" she asked him. "What time is it?"

"Just after nine," he told her.

She groaned, sitting up reluctantly. "Come on," she said with a laugh. "Better get this over with."

Reed, on the other hand, had alternative plans. He took hold of her, pulling her back down to him again. "No, I'd rather stay here," he laughed.

"Okay, then," she teased. "But you'll be staying here on your own because I've been the center of my brother's teasing before, and I don't intend to be there again." She tried to fight against him, but it ended up in a play-fight that caused so much sound through their laughing - mainly Sue's - that they barely heard the knock on the bedroom door. They stopped at a rather awkward moment when the knock came, and suddenly realized how much noise they had been making. In fact, it would be hard to find a more awkward time than this. It looked as if they were about to do exactly what Ben and Johnny thought they were going to do last night. And speaking of their fellow teammates...

"Yes?" Sue answered, half giggling as she tried to stop both her and Reed from falling off the edge of the bed where they were both balanced, entwined with each other.

"Are you guys going to come out of there today or can I go back to bed?"

Johnny's call was answered with a thud that, from the other side of the door, caused him to raise an eyebrow. On the inside of the room, however, it was clear that the thud was caused by Reed falling off the side of the bed and landing, rather unexpectedly, on the floor.

"Five minutes," Sue called back, before exploding into laughter at Reed's shocked expression.

"You think this is funny?" he asked her, even though he was laughing just as hard. He didn't get an answer out of her, though, because of her laughter, and she simply nodded vaguely. "Fine, then." With that, he stretched his arms out so that he could grab her around the waist, ignoring his squeals of protest, and he dragged her down onto the floor with him. She landed straight in his lap, but he rolled over before she could get a hold of herself, pinning her down to the floor with one arm beside her head and the other beside her arm. "Not laughing now, are we?" he teased her.

Sue looked sharply over his shoulder in the direction of the door, widening her eyes in shock and looking generally appalled. "Johnny!" she called out, "what the hell? Get _out_!" Instantly, Reed looked around in a similar shock, but it was all a trick. Johnny wasn't actually there, and the bedroom door was firmly closed. However, while he was momentarily distracted, Sue took it upon herself to flip him over and pin him down by sitting on his chest. "Get out of _this_ one, Mr. Fantastic," she challenged him, pinning his hands on either side of his shoulders.

"That's not fair," he pointed out. "You had the use of your hands."

"Don't talk fair with me, Richards," she said daringly. "...Or is that a surrender I hear?"

He raised an eyebrow to match her mocking brow. "Is it ever!" He tugged his leg from beneath her so quickly that, even though he didn't manage to free his leg, he caught her off balance long enough to flip them around so she was underneath again. "Give it up, Sue," he told her. "You can't win this." _God, she's beautiful, _he thought, suddenly realizing that he was pinning her to the ground in a very compromising position.

"Oh, can't I?" she challenged, trying to get her hands free from his, but he wasn't loosening his grip at all. She knew the only way to get out of this, using the same technique she had done years ago, but was she really prepared to do this? It was, after all, something they used to do when they were a couple, and to do it now would be crossing so many lines. Playing it cool, she raised her eyes to meet his. "You know, Reed, sooner or later you're going to have to give this up."

"Not until you do," he replied instantly. _Her eyes...they're so bright..._

"Johnny's waiting for you in the lab," she reminded him. _Of all the men in the world..._

"He's waiting for both of us." _If only she knew..._

"He'll coming looking for us again." _If only he knew..._

"Let him come," Reed said coolly. Their face were inches apart, but she lifted her head a little more so that she could whisper. _Do it, Reed. You know you want to, _her mind screamed.

"Reed, my knee is in a very interesting place at the moment," she warned him lightly. "One slip, and I can make it impossible for you to ever reproduce." _He's so close..._

Looking down, Reed saw that her knee was bent slightly and positioned directly between his legs. Grinning nervously, he returned his gaze to hers. _She wouldn't..._ "No, you wouldn't do that," he said, with false confidence.

She cocked her head to the side. "Oh, won't I?" _Will I?_

"No, you won't," Reed said simply, winding up all his courage. "Because I'm going to do this."

And without wasting another second he leaned down, filling the minute gap between them. Before Sue realized what was happening, she felt his lips on her own, very gentle yet filled with passion. Everything that they had wanted to say to each other for their fortnight of unspoken history was said in their kiss. She was completely drawn into his familiar touch, and didn't even think to pull away when she felt his tongue tracing along her bottom lip, bringing it into his mouth. She let her tongue slip into his mouth, touching his tongue and then drawing it into her own mouth. After what seemed like an age, they both pulled back, breathing heavily. Opening their eyes, the pools of chocolate brown met cerulean blue, and neither could look away.

Reed could still feel her lips upon his, as if they hadn't really parted. He had missed her kisses, her touch...everything about her. And to make things better, she hadn't fought against him or pulled away before things had developed. She had enjoyed it as much as he had. When he looked down at her, finding that she wasn't looking away but rather looking straight at him, he found that there was something in her eyes that he recognized from long ago.

Sue, on the other hand, couldn't believe that he'd actually had the courage to kiss her. It had felt wonderful, and she had wanted him to do it...hadn't she? Suddenly, she found herself more drawn to him than ever, especially when she realized how attractive she found him now that he was stepping up and taking charge as a leader. Surely Johnny wouldn't mind if they were a little late for the tests..._No, Sue, this is important. You have to find out what's happening to your brother..._As her brother, though, Johnny would want her to be happy. But was she? Was she happy?..._Yes._

She didn't really know what to think at that moment, other than that she was still lying beneath Reed. Neither of them moved, either because they were too stunned to even consider it, or because they simply didn't want to. Sue closed her eyes again for a moment, savoring the feeling of his lips against hers, and then reopened them to find him smiling gently down at her. Suddenly, everything else vanished from her mind. She wasn't thinking about meeting Johnny in the lab. She didn't care about Ben and Johnny coming looking for them. She didn't even care about Victor and her disastrous meeting with him last night. All she cared about was being right where she was. Reaching her no longer pinned down hand up, she traced it from his cheek, up through his hair, and down to the back of his neck before pulling him down for another kiss. This gave Reed all the assurance he needed. Kissing her last night would have been taking advantage of her, but now she was every bit as willing as he was. There wasn't anything to stop them now. Nothing at all...

"Hey, are you two coming or what?"

Reluctantly, but forcedly, Reed pulled away from Sue rather quickly and yelled back; "Just go back to bed if you don't want to wait!" _Brilliant timing, Johnny..._

Sue laughed gently, and Reed turned his head back to her with a heavy sigh. "I'll go and get rid of him," she suggested, as Reed climbed to his feet and let her get up from the carpet. She pulled open the door, finger combing her hair as she did so. "Yes, Johnny?"

"I thought we had work to do or something?" he said, peering over her shoulder at Reed, who was sat on the end of her bed now.

"Yes, we do," she said, not making any move to leave the room. "But I just woke up, so can you please give me a while?" she begged without enthusiasm.

"You a while, or you and Reed a while?" he said playfully, leaning against the door frame.

"Me and Reed a while," she grinned back. "Go on, we'll do the tests later."

"Fine," he surrendered. "I'm going out."

"Okay, don't set fire to anything," she said, shutting the door before he had even moved.

Wandering back across the room, she sat down on the edge of the bed beside Reed before laying back with a heavy sigh. Reed lay back beside her, propping himself up with one arm. "_'Us'_ a while?" he repeated curiously.

"Yeah, _'us'_," she smiled. "Anyway, where were we?"

"Well," he said, looking back towards the door, but downwards. "We _were_ on the floor. I don't know about you, though, but this is a _lot_ more comfortable."

She smiled. "I was the one on the floor, not you," she reminded him, "and you're right. This is definitely more comfortable."

She closed her eyes, sinking further into the mattress. She could have easily fallen back into sleep were it not for the feeling of fingertips gently moving along her jawline, which brought her back to the here and now. Smiling contently, she didn't need to open her eyes, as soon Reed was cupping her cheek while he kissed her again.

This time, with no interruptions.


End file.
